shave or not to shave is the problem all men have to face every
day. At least the office-goers do not have much choice, and have
to perform the task daily. As per a Gillette razor company
survey, Indians spend 3,600 hours shaving, at the rate of 20
minutes a day. But there is also an equally powerful lobby of
college-going lads, who often debate and decide to follow the
filmstars sprouting beards. What does Abhishek flaunt that
Hrithik is happy to get rid of? For them the query is whom to
follow. Amitabh Bachchan, junior Bachchan, Prannoy Roy, Shekhar
Kapur or even Osama Bin Laden? Here Abhishek Bachchan is the
most cherished model, having come a long way from being a
star-son to becoming a superstar in his own right, and on his
own terms. Tall, dark and definitely handsome, he’s the guy
who made beards cool again.
But let us face it. The great thing about facial hair is that you can never go wrong with changing your style. As one of your most natural accessories, you can try different looks, no risk, no harm. But it takes more than inspiration to change your look—-you need to make sure your facial hair (or lack thereof) is appropriate for your line of work and your image.
Before you throw away your razors, you have to decide as to what style suits your face.
Any style that is cleanly cut around the ears or any style that provides a square frame for the face will do. A square face is generally suitable for experiments with facial hair.
A well-maintained beard may camouflage a soft jaw line. A carefully trimmed goatee can also infuse an element of squareness to a soft chin.
Beards can be styled to make the face appear more oval. A neat moustache can also enhance the overall appearance and shape of the face.
A French beard or its variations help to balance and fill out the jaw line. A stubble trimmed into a rounded or square shape will disguise the prominent chin.
The main trends today are:
A few-days-old stubble: This is a classic, no-nonsense facial hair style. If you are tired of walking around with a ‘good-boy-clean-shaven’ look, then try growing your hair for a few days. It lends machoism and ruggedness to your personality. If you feel like your hair is growing out of control and is turning into a beard, use a trimmer.
Sideburns: When it comes to sideburn length, the norm is for your sideburns to end at the midpoint of your ear. Trim your sideburns with a razor or clippers, or have them trimmed when you go for a haircut. This is a great default style that’s easy to maintain and remains timeless.
French beard: A pattern of facial hair with a thin moustache, which wraps around the lips to continue into a beard that covers the chin region only. The rest of the face, especially the cheeks, are clean shaven.
Below-the-lip goatee: You can call it a wannabe French beard. This style is to give you a ‘different’ look—-it can’t be termed as casual or formal. It depends on the way you carry it off. Although simple goatees are out, a thin moustache along with a small patch of hair underneath the bottom lip and another patch of hair on the chin (none of which are attached) can help add some edge to your style.
Ramesh Sahai, fashion choreographer and model coordinator, believes that one can’t generalise in which type of beard one looks better. “In fact on some people stubble suits better. Models who are between 18 and 23 tend to grow a stubble to look mature or to get rid of the baby-face tag used to describe them.” He adds that stubble sits well on actors like Abhishek Bachchan or Prabhu Deva and that many keep a stubble because they would look much younger without one. Then, there are guys for whom both the looks suit. For example, Madhavan looks cute without a stubble, and tough with it.”
Want to know the most apt and wackiest reason for keeping a beard? It’s a matter of saving ‘shaving’ time. One gets more quality time with “wife.” — MF
